


Polaroid

by Lazycatgirl



Category: Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bruce Wayne is Tim Drake's Biological Parent, Bruce Wayne is a Good Parent, Cassandra Cain is Bruce Wayne's Biological Child, Dick Grayson is Bruce Wayne's Biological Child, Gen, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Jason Todd is Bruce Wayne's Biological Child, Jewish Bruce Wayne, Latino Jason Todd
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-10
Updated: 2021-02-20
Packaged: 2021-03-10 06:47:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 16,920
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27979833
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lazycatgirl/pseuds/Lazycatgirl
Summary: Jason knew Willis wasn’t his father, he made that very obvious as he was growing up, as far as he knows he has no living family, and a change of identity means he can’t go back to his former life. Will a meeting with the Bat change everything?
Relationships: Alfred Pennyworth & Jason Todd, Cassandra Cain & Jason Todd, Catherine Todd & Bruce Wayne, Catherine Todd & Jason Todd, Catherine Todd/Bruce Wayne, Danny Todd & Jason Todd, Dick Grayson & Jason Todd, Jason Todd & Willis Todd, Tim Drake & Jason Todd
Comments: 5
Kudos: 78





	1. A chance encounter can make all the difference

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Red Blood, Blue Blood](https://archiveofourown.org/works/15844977) by [Telperien](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Telperien/pseuds/Telperien). 



> This story is set in my AU world titled Earth-1610, it is a mixture of earth 1, 2, Prime, and new earth with a few pieces taken from other media like the burtonverse or titans and young justice. Might also have included a few head cannons that just won't leave me alone.
> 
> I very rarely write in this fandom so the characters may come across as oc but I am trying my best for one of my favourite fandoms.
> 
> Thank you to Telperien for encouraging me and giving their blessing to post this story.
> 
> I'm not great at sticking to an update schedule just to warn you but I will endeavour to update when I can.

Catalina smiled at Maria as she came out in a beautiful blue dress, she twirled and sent Catalina a look. Gabriela shared the look with Maria. They dropped dramatically either side of Catalina.

“We’re going out to celebrate, this is the start of a new life for us.” Maria smiled, wrapping an arm around Catalina’s slender shoulders.

“Yeah so stop moping, he was a loser and a jerk, we are going out to celebrate, get ridiculously drunk and hopefully find a hot guy to take home.” Gabriela laughed.

“I promise not to comment on any guy you do bring home either.” Maria held her hand in the air and smirked.

“And what makes you both so sure a guy would be interested in a girl like me?” Catalina bit her lip worriedly.

“One, Willis is a no-good cheat, and you can do better than that waste of space. Two, you just got accepted to do a nursing course, hello hot nurse, and three, we are three very sexy Latinas no guy is going to say no to this.” Gabriela stood and moved her hands down her body as she turned.

“Maybe you’ll actually find someone who’s read as many books as you.” Maria smiled.

“Nobody has read as many books as her.” Gabriela laughed dirtily.

Maria shook her head and pulled Catalina over to the mirror and began twisting her hair into a long braid. Gabriela dove into the wardrobe where Catalina’s stuff was hung and came back out with an off the shoulder deep green dress that had a plunge and showed off plenty of leg. The two women nodded and set to work helping to make Catalina her most beautiful.

They met Luis, Gabriela’s latest boyfriend and secretly they hoped he would be her one, at the head of the line, he was chatting away to the bouncer, a local they knew was called Eddie, at the newest hot spot in Gotham. They waltzed in no problem, laughing in awe at the club. It must have been opened by someone outside of Gotham; it was high end. And wouldn’t last long in a city like Gotham.

The lights along with the loud music and the chatter made everything a little disorienting. Gabriela Grabbed Catalina’s shoulder and leant close, “You are getting drunk tonight, Luis and I will get the drinks.” She grabbed Luis’ hand and dragged him over to the bar.

Maria and Catalina made their way past the row of booths that sat on the edge of the dance floor. Catalina glanced over at the guy sat with two girls, as they walked past, he was rather handsome in a movie star kind of way.

“You might want to forget about finding a guy who sends you love letters,” Maria laughed pulling Catalina through the crowd.

“A girl is allowed to dream; besides, I like old fashioned romance.” Catalina shook her head as she laughed warmly.

Maria pulled Catalina close and coaxed her into dancing, they were soon joined by Luis and Gabriela bringing over an array of cocktails. They drank and danced, several guys coming over to dance with them. They all managed to get free drinks from all the attention. A particularly snobbish guy came over and put his hands on Catalina’s hips, she turned removing his hands form her hips.

“I’m not interested.” She smiled.

“A girl like you is always interested,” he remarked and grabbed at her butt this time.

“I meant I’m not interested in you, now kindly remove your hands and get lost.” She snapped, shoving his hands off her.

“I believe she told you to get lost,” she turned around at the smoky voice.

Her eyes travelled up to the handsome stranger, it was the guy from the booth that had caught her attention earlier. He was tall, taller than the asshat that had decided to grab her butt while she was dancing, even after she told him to get lost, and here was a handsome stranger coming to her rescue. She stepped back into Maria’s waiting arms, as the asshat throws a punch, but the handsome stranger side steps it and puts himself between him and Catalina. He takes half a step forward and throws out a right hook, knocking Asshat to the floor holding his jaw, while glaring up at them.

“You were asked to leave,” handsome guy all but growls at the fallen male.

Luis and Gabriela stand just behind him, causing Asshat to frown, his friend that had been grinding on Maria steps around the group and pulls him away, with a whisper in his ear. They see his eyes widen and the shadow of the bouncer appears in front of them.

“Everything all right here Maria,” his eyes darting between the handsome stranger and the asshat and his friend.

“They were just leaving, right?” Maria sent a glare at the two.

They scrambled to get away from the dance floor.

“You okay Cat?” Maria asked turning her friend so she could see her face.

“I’m fine,” she nodded at Maria turning back to the handsome stranger, “Thanks, but I could have handled it myself.” She frowned looking up at him.

“I’m sure you could have, but sometimes it pays to be a gentleman.” He shrugged, “Did you want to get a drink?”

“Won’t your girlfriends mind?” Catalina asked leaning round him and looking over to where they could see the two young women watching. They waved excitedly.

“They’re my cousins one on each side of the family, we escaped a family party.” He smiled.

“Oh,” Catalina bit her lip nervously, “Well, if they won’t mind.”

“I’m sure they won’t, why don’t you all come over and join us,” he smiled.

They nodded their heads in disbelief and followed him over to the booth. The two women smirked as he walked over.

“Made some new friends B?” the elder of the two smiled.

“This is my cousin Jane,” he gestured to the brown-haired woman, “And Kathe- “

“I swear if you call me Katherine,” the red head growled, “I’m Kate.” She smiled, shaking hands with everyone.

“Nice to meet you, I’m Gabriela, this is my boyfriend Luis, Maria and Catalina is the one you saved from that asshat,” she pointed out each person in turn.

They slide into the booth, Gabriela and Luis first, followed by Maria and Catalina, while B slides in next to Kate. A waiter practically pops up out of nowhere to take their drink order. A call of the same again gets him scurrying away and scampering back just as quickly.

“We totally have enough people to do shots now,” Kate laughed.

“I like that plan!” Gabriela shouts.

“So, what brings you all out tonight.” Jane asks.

“New beginnings, Maria got a job working at that new shelter, down in Crime Alley.” Gabriela exclaimed.

“It’s part of the community and needs all the help it can get.” Maria blushed.

“Catalina recently dumped her asshat of a cheating boyfriend – ” she held up her hand, “he was a cheating asshole and don’t you try to defend him.” she turned her narrowed gaze away from Catalina, “plus this one, got accepted into nursing school, she’s going to be able to help people like she always wanted.” Gabriela smiled.

“Well, then to new beginnings,” Jane smiled and lifted her glass.

“So, you escaped a family party?” Catalina prompted as they finished their drinks and a tray of shots appeared.

“Oh, yeah totally boring family affair, Bette was sweet and helped distract the adults so we could come out clubbing. I say we, but we pretty much dragged B, here with us. Good thing we did too, he needs to learn to relax.” Kate laughed.

“I can relax just fine,” he frowned.

“Hiding in the library with a book is not what I’d call relaxing, besides you didn’t really want to be there just as much as us.” Jane sniped back.

“Actually, that’s exactly what Catalina would do, curl up on the chair buried in a book.” Maria smiled.

“I like to read,” Catalina puffed a strand of hair out of her face.

B reached forwards and tucked it behind her ear, “What sort of books do you read?” he smiled coyly.

Catalina didn’t notice the twinkling look in Jane and Kate’s eye or the nudged proud looks coming from her friends.

“Anything really, I adore the old romantics actually, Jane Austen is a favourite,” she blushed, “recently I finished The Picture of Dorian Grey, and I’ve just picked up the Count of Monte Cristo.” She felt herself blushing.

“We’re going to dance,” Kate placed a hand on B’s shoulder, “Sorry to interrupt,” she smirked.

Bruce and Catalina stood so their respective friends could get out of the booth.

“I don’t expect to see you until tomorrow,” Gabriela cackled, leaning on Luis.

Catalina blushed at the genuine idea that had just been put out there.

“Bruce remember to wrap it up yeah?” Jane sniggered causing both of them to blush.

The group left laughing away, Kate throwing an arm over maria’s shoulder. They turned to each other in embarrassment, “Did you want to get something to eat?” he rubbed at the back of his head.

“Yes, that would be nice,” she nodded.

It was just starting to snow, as they left the club, Bruce pulled his jacket off and placed it round her shoulders and held his hand out for her to take. They linked hands and walked up the pavement.

“You know most places aren’t open this late?” she leant into his shoulder.

“I might know a place,” he smiled.

They made their way to a small out of the way Italian restaurant that looked as though it was just closing down for the night. He smiled as the owner looked up at the window, she was amazed as they were let in and Bruce started chatting in Italian to the owner, a few minutes later and they were sat at a small table watching as the cook started preparing a pasta dish for them from scratch.

“How on earth did you?” she asked at a loss for words.

“My parents and I used to come here, usually after a night at the theatre,” he smiled tightly.

“And how many languages do you speak?” she asked in awe.

“A few,” he smiled sheepishly as the waiter came over with a bottle of wine and topped up their glasses.

The food was amazing, probably because it was all made fresh in front of them.

“Can I ask about you, and your family?” he paused swirling his pasta expertly with a fork and a spoon.

“Oh, well I’m Gotham born, my parents are Puerto Rican, they made sure I got a decent education, I went to Gotham Public Academy, I was in my final year when I met my ex. He was a bit of a bad boy, we took him in when he had nowhere to go, good Catholics.” She snorted, “We had a massive argument and they made me choose him or them, I chose him. Stupid really, young love, puppy love, first love, I regretted it, but I’ve never been able to go back. So, it was me and him until recently. But Maria has always been there she’s the best really.” She copied Bruce’s technique and twirled her pasta.

“You could still make it up to them you know, say you’re sorry.” He leant across the table taking her hand in his.

“No, I’ve made my bed, I’ll sleep in it. Besides I need to prove them wrong. Prove that I am worth the time of day.” She wiped at her eyes carefully. “Sorry, not really setting the mood, am I?” she laughed.

“You are worth the time of day.” He squeezed her hand.

They waved as they left the restaurant, he pulled her close his jacket wrapped around her shoulders.

“I’d like to kiss you now.” He bowed his head and leant in.

He was an amazingly good kisser. She blinked her eyes open and giggled tipsily. He squeezed her hand and walked with her down the road.

“Where are we going now?” she laughed.

“To show you that you are worth the time of day.” He leant forwards, capturing her lips again, her arms coming up to wrap around his neck.

She had no idea how they made it back to his place. She remembered gasping at the size of the place, he laughed at her as she commented on it, informing her that it was a penthouse. He showed her the library and watched as she marvelled at the range of books, he commented that it was nothing compared to the manor, which she thought was crazy, why was he talking about a manor? He smiled at her and shook his head, “Are you sure you want to do this? You have no idea who I am?” he pulled back from her.

“I thought you wanted to prove that I am worth the time,” she replied, staring up at his dark blue eyes.

“Oh, you definitely are.” He leaned forward and captured her lips.

When she woke the next morning, it was to a pleasant ache all over, she turned her head as she heard noise. She sat up pulling the sheet with her as Bruce, wearing a pair of loose pants, walked in with a tray laden with food.

“You can cook too?” She smiled.

“No,” he laughed and leaned down to kiss her, “That’s mainly what’s Alfred’s for.” He placed the tray over her lap and settled on the bed next to her. He leant on an arm as he picked up a grape. “So, there’s aspirin there if you have a headache, from all the alcohol.” He rubbed at the back of his head nervously.

“Thank you,” she popped a grape into her mouth.

In the sunlight, he was even more handsome, his dark hair was dishevelled as though he had recently woken up, his chest was exposed – he was broad and had defined muscles, she had to stop herself from reaching out to touch him. Her eyes travelled up to his face his blue eyes twinkling, it was that moment she realised she had seen that face before -that was the face of Bruce Wayne. Billionaire, who had disappeared at the age of eighteen. She took in a deep breath. She had slept with Bruce Wayne. She had had sex with Bruce Wayne – multiple times. She felt her face get hot as she blushed.

“Are you okay?” he asked leaning forwards to place a hand comfortingly on her cheek.

“You’re Bruce Wayne!” she spluttered out. “Holy Shit! I had sex with Bruce Wayne!”

“Yes. Multiple times.” He chuckled.

“I didn’t know you were Bruce Wayne!” She held a hand over her mouth.

“Is that a bad thing?” he asked.

She looked over at him, his earlier soft smile had evaporated, tension was in his shoulders and he seemed almost resigned. She reached a hand out, tilting his face towards her.

“No, a little unexpected maybe,” she smiled. “I enjoyed talking to you, and last night was amazing I’m not going to lie,” she ducked her head.

Bruce looked over at her, noticing the faint blush on her cheeks, she really meant what she said. He adored the look on her face just then, slowly he leant forwards again tilting her chin up and capturing her lips once again. Catalina blinked. Shocked that she was being kissed again, before closing her eyes, kissing back. The kiss was tender yet demanding as Bruce slowly pulled away. He smiled at the look on Catalina’s face as her eyes fluttered open, her cheeks still red and a small shy smile appeared.

“Did you want to go out for lunch sometime?” Bruce asked. “When are you free?”

“This isn’t a one-night stand?” she gushed.

“I don’t want it to be,” he rubbed at the back of his head. “I wasn’t expecting to meet anyone really, but I couldn’t sit there while that guy was… and then you were nice, and I enjoyed our conversation and…” he shrugged struggling to find the words.

“I’m free today,” she jumped in. “Although I need to go home and change.” She blushed glancing down at herself.

“Or we could spend the day in bed,” he leant forwards moving the tray to the nightstand.

“What about your family?” she asked breathlessly.

“They can wait.” He captured her lips again.

The kiss started off slow and as Catalina started to kiss back, became more heated. “Did I tell you how beautiful you are?” he questioned, as he kissed his way down her neck causing her to gasp out. “You might have mentioned it once or twice,” she managed to gasp out, as he found a sensitive spot on her neck.

She was stood in the library wearing Bruce’s shirt as she ran her fingers across the spines of the books. She was lost in a world of her own, a small warm smile on her face and humming a gentle tune, as she pulled a copy of Emma from the shelf.

That’s how Bruce found her, as he leant against the door frame just watching her. He pushed off the door frame and entered the room.

“You really do love books don’t you?” he leant down and kissed her on the cheek.

She turned and smiled at him, her eyebrow raising as she saw the garment bag in his hand. “What’s that?”

“Well since you haven’t been home since last night and we are going to lunch, I thought you might like to dress in more than just my shirt.” He chuckled as she blushed. “Just to warn you, there will probably be paparazzi there and as much I enjoy you wearing my clothes I don’t think you want the entire world to see you in just my shirt.”

“Is this curtesy of Alfred?” she rose an eyebrow at him.

“No, I rang down and got the boutique to drop this off.” He held out the garment bag, “I can show you where the bathroom is,” he waggled his eyebrows.

“If I do that I don’t think we will make that lunch appointment,” she stood and placed a kiss to his cheek, “Thank you, you don’t have to spoil me you know.”

“Even if I want to,” he turned watching her leave the room.

The Paparazzi were indeed waiting for them at the restaurant, which was slightly ridiculous if you asked Catalina. Bruce was charming, he smiled and linked their hands together pulling her past the throng of flashing cameras, and into the safety of the restaurant. It was extravagant, the food was amazing, the flavours practically melted in the mouth, they chatted about random things and were just generally enjoying each other’s company.

“You really don’t have to pull out all the stops with me, Bruce. I’m here for your company not your money,” she twirled her hair absently as the waiter came over with the bill.

He leant forwards tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear, watching her blush. “Do you think we could escape back to my place without the horde of paparazzi following us?” he gestured to the waiting cameras through the window.

“I need to head home and you need to make an appearance with your family.” She laughed patting his chest and smiling at his lapel.

“We could go out the back way, I can walk you home, drop you off at the door as a gentleman should,” his lips quirked as he held out his arm for her to take.

She looped her arm through his and nodded, they shot a smile at the waiter as he helped escort them out the back of the building. She laughed as they practically ran down the road hand in hand away from the horde of flashing cameras and grumbling shouts as they raced after them. They darted into an alleyway and ducked behind a dumpster, waiting as the horde ran past. She smiled and looked up at him, just as he looked down at her. She pushed up on her tiptoes to press her lips to his. He wrapped his hands around her waist and pulled her closer to him. They knocked the side of the bin they were stood behind, drawing them both out of the kiss.

“Let’s get you home,” he rested his forehead against hers, “Before the vultures find us.”

He stood on the steps of the apartment block looking up at Catalina as she buzzed to be let into the building.

“You don’t have your keys?” he framed it like a question.

“I’m living with Maria, after I caught my ex cheating, I packed up my stuff and came here,” she shrugged as the door buzzed. “Did you want to come and make sure I’m safely back with Maria?” She worried her lip against her bottom teeth.

“I’d like that.” He stepped forward taking her hand and squeezing it. “Lead the way.”

Three flights of stairs later and they stood awkwardly outside of Maria’s door. She smiled looking down at their still entwined hands.

“I would like to see you again, if I may.” He looked away as he spoke. “I’m not in town long but, I really would like to see you again.”

“How long are you here for?”

“The end of Hanukkah,” he replied, “My mum’s family are Jewish.” He supplied.

“A nice Jewish boy like you hooking up with a catholic girl like me.” She smiled.

“Half Jewish,” he shrugged looking at the ground.

“I’d like to see you again too; you know where I am.” She smiled leaning up on tiptoe to place a kiss on his cheek.

The door opened behind her and she waved at him as she stepped into the apartment and closed the door. She leant her back against the door, slowly looking up at Maria.

Maria stood with her hands on her hips and a stern frown on her face, before it quickly morphed into a huge grin.

“I cannot believe you actually listened to Gabriela,” then she caught a look at the outfit she was wearing. “Did he buy you a new outfit?”

Catalina pushed off the door, “You might want to get comfy.”

Catalina spent the rest of the afternoon catching Maria up with everything that happened after she left the club that night. There were many screeches from Maria especially after she discovered that her lover boy was actually Bruce Wayne, Gabriela was going to freak when she found out.

A couple of days later there was a knock at the door, Maria got up to answer it. Catalina could hear her talking to someone but was too interested in her book to take much notice, until she recognised the deep baritone. She jumped up and hovered in the doorway, the book hanging loosely in her grasp, there was Bruce talking to Maria and holding what looked like another garment bag. He glanced over suddenly almost like he could sense that she was near. A small sincere smile graced his lips and his eyes softened when he spotted her.

“Did you want to come in?” Maria asked, “We were going to start making dinner soon anyway. Why don’t you stay for dinner?” she looked between the two of them.

“I’d like that,” he nodded looking straight at Catalina.

“That would be nice,” Catalina blushed.

Maria shut the door behind Bruce as he stepped into the apartment, he held out the garment bag, “your dress, outfit from…” he trailed off a blush settling on his cheeks as his eyes flicked to Maria.

“Thank you,” Catalina reached for the garment bag her fingers brushing against his as she took it.

She turned taking the garment bag back into her room and hung it on her wardrobe and opened it, she let out a laugh when she saw his shirt hung over her dress. She walked back out to the kitchen area where Maria was pulling out the food whilst making sure Bruce washed his hands. She joined him at the sink before turning and grabbing the peppers. The two women worked efficiently and easily moved around Bruce when it was discovered that he had never cooked a meal in his life. He was relegated to setting up the table and making sure they all had drinks. Where he pulled that bottle of wine from neither had any idea.

Maria excused herself from the table shortly after they had finished, disappearing into her room and coming back out with her work bag.

“Got training on the night shift, I’ll see you in the morning don’t stay up too late,” she smirked her eyes travelling between the two of them.

Catalina feels herself blushing as she looks down at the table, she feels Bruce take her hand in his and looks up at him to see a similar blush resting across his nose. She rose to her feet squeezing his hand gently before letting go and collecting the plates. She walked over to the sink and started rinsing the plates, she felt him approach wrapping his arms around her.

“Why don’t I do that? You cooked and I have no idea where anything goes,” he pressed a soft kiss to her neck as he leant down.

She turned in his arms seeing the sincerity there, feeling a soft smile grace her lips, she nodded. He lifted an arm and she slipped under it. She heard him turn the tap on, as she stepped away to bring over the rest of the dinner items.

It was nice, Willis had never offered to help with dinner or the dishes, it was sweet even if Bruce wasn’t very competent in the kitchen, he still offered. He was smart, kind and funny. He was also built which she didn’t think she’d been attracted to before. She watched him as the muscles in his back moved with his movements. She could imagine a life like this, this is what she wanted. A frown settled on her face, but Bruce was from another world, he had Alfred to do all these things for him.

“You’re staring”,” he commented, snapping her from her thought process.

He hadn’t turned to look at her, so how he knew she was staring was beyond her. She shook her head and moved over to start drying up and putting the items away in their correct places. She soon figured out how he knew she was staring when she felt eyes on her. She glanced over to see him with his head turned.

“What are you thinking?” he sounded bemused.

She leant her head against his shoulder, “That this is nice,” she replied honestly.

“Yeah,” he breathed, leaning down to press his lips to her forehead.

“Thank you, for bringing my dress back, and the shirt,” she tittered.

“You look good in my shirt,” he breathed, eyes dilating, as his lips moved down the side of her face.

He trailed kisses down her face descending towards her neck, her head fell back, as she was pressed against the counter.

She rested a hand on Bruce’s chest as they lay sprawled on her bed, relaxing in each other’s embrace. She looked up at him, a contented smile on his face. He looked down at her linking his fingers with hers and pulling her hand up to kiss it softly.

“When do you leave?” she sighed.

“My flight’s in two days,” he closed his eyes, “Maybe you could write, we could write to each other, while I’m away.” He looked down at her.

“Do you have to go?” she pressed her head against his chest.

“I-” he turned his head.

“I didn’t expect this to happen,” she admitted. “But I didn’t really expect this to last either,”

“Me too,” he tilted her head up and placed a gentle kiss there, “Why didn’t you expect it to last?”

“You’re Bruce Wayne, a billionaire, we’re from two different worlds, you’ll have to go back there eventually.” She shrugged, trying to pull her hand from his.

“It doesn’t have to be,” he tightened his grip on her hand, “I want to make a difference in this world, that’s why I decided to travel in the first place. I found myself with spare time and headed home and I didn’t expect this to happen either. I’m not sure what to do.” He looked down at her. “You make me forget the world, I feel at peace for the first time in years, I didn’t plan for this either, this is the first time I’ve felt unsure.” She sat up and placed a gentle kiss on his forehead.

“We’ll figure it out,” she smiled at him, “sometimes you have to give people a chance they might surprise you. Go to sleep Bruce, I’ll still be here in the morning.” She watched him nod his head, eyes falling closed. She lay her head back on his chest and closed her eyes.

The next time Catalina woke, Bruce wasn’t in bed, she looked up hearing rustling to find him pulling on the clothes from the previous day. He stopped and glanced over at her, a shy smile spreading over his features.

“I’m not running away, honest.” He walked over and placed a gentle kiss to her forehead. “Need to visit the family, and Alfred-” he turned looking away from her.

“The famous Alfred,” she smiled, slipping from the bed and helping him to adjust his tie. “Must be an amazing person.”

“What makes you say that?” he asked.

“He helped raise you,” she looked up at him, “And you are the most amazing person I have ever met,” she stood on tiptoes and pressed a kiss to his cheek.

“Yeah, he’s the best. I’ll come back after?” he asked.

“Only if you want to Bruce,” she smiled pulling his shirt from the garment bag and slipping it on.

His eyes travelled down to where the shirt rested against her thighs, “I like the way you look in my shirt,” he took a step back admiring her.

“You’ve said,” she smiled, opening the door of the bedroom.

“Adios Bruce,” he slipped past her.

She was curled up on the sofa, a hot cup of cocoa in hand, every now and then she would glance at Maria as she dashed about getting ready for her night training at the shelter. Maria pulled the door open her coat half on and a piece of toast in her mouth, she stopped staring at the hand raised to knock. Bruce had come back again, this time with a bag. She raised an eyebrow at him, waiting as he took a step back.

“Catalina you have a visitor,” she shouted over her shoulder before darting down the corridor.

Catalina looked over the top of the sofa, to find Bruce stood in the doorway. He gestured to the doorway waiting for her to nod. He stepped forwards and closed the door behind him. He walked over to the sofa where she was still curled up cradling her hot drink, “may I join you?” he breathed.

“If you like old movies?” she moved the blanket giving him room to sit down. “Cocoa?”

“Thank you,” he sat down where she cleared space for him. “What are we watching?” leaning on the back of the sofa to watch her work.

“You’ll have to wait and see,” she sauntered over still wearing his shirt.

They cuddled up on the sofa, as the movie started.

Maria walked in to find them curled round each other asleep on the sofa with the end credits of a film rolling. She snuck into her room and grabbed her camera she hoped the sound wouldn’t wake them, as she stole a picture of the two together. She really hoped this would be a fairy tale romance for the two of them, Catalina certainly deserved it. She turned the television off and stole into her room leaving the two sleeping on the sofa.

The next morning, Catalina found a beautifully hand-written letter with her name on it, and no Bruce in sight. She sat and quietly read the letter, she didn’t realise she was crying until Maria came and wrapped herself around her wiping her tears away.

Maria and Catalina sat stunned on the sofa as Gabriela jittered about, every now and then the light would reflect off the stone from her ring finger. Luis had proposed the night before after they had found out that she was pregnant. She caught them looking at each other, she stopped babbling and placed her hands on her hips.

“What it is? Why are you looking at each other like that?”

“I thought you were using protection?” Maria uttered.

“Well duh we were, look I’m like eight weeks pregnant, and I’ve been with Luis all that time. He’s working at a garage and has a chance at working up the business, I’m really happy guys, it was a complete accident, but I want this, and I want you two to be happy for me.” She sat down on the sofa in between them.

“We are happy for you, a little surprised but happy.” Catalina wrapped her arms around her.

“Very happy for you,” Maria agreed wrapping her friends up tightly in a hug. “When’s the wedding?” she chuckled.

“We were thinking April, we didn’t want to rush it, but we also thought you know baby bump.” She shrugged.

“You’d be what 6 months pregnant then?” Catalina stated.

“You want to get married as soon as possible, surely?” Maria asked.

“What about February?” Catalina proposed. “January is too soon we’d never get anything sorted in time.” She shrugged.

“We?” Gabriela asked.

“Like we’d even leave you to plan this on your own.” Maria nodded.

“You two are the best friends a girl could ever have.” Gabriela squealed and threw her arms around her two friends pulling them tightly against her.

They spent the rest of the afternoon building a scrapbook of wedding ideas together. They picked out the colour scheme, found several different venues in case the first choice wasn’t available. and started researching the different types of dresses.

The sudden rush to plan a wedding distracted Catalina from all thoughts of Bruce Wayne. Maria and Catalina spent the rest of the Christmas holiday with Gabriela’s family and met Luis’ family, enjoying being surrounded by so many people, it helped to raise Catalina’s spirit. Maria and Catalina had been out all-day, when they arrived home to find a letter written in beautiful penmanship addressed to Catalina, they both froze looking at the letter. There was no way that he had written to her. She held her breath and knelt down picking up the envelope and tracing her hand over the letters of her name. Her full name. Catalina Elisa Ibáñez. She looked up at Maria.

“It’s up to you,” Maria smiled sadly.

Catalina nodded and picked it up taking it and disappearing into her room. Maria looked forlornly at her door before moving into the apartment. She set about putting the food away, leftovers from their time spent with Gabriela’s family. She’d just finished when there was a knock at her door. Frowning she edged over, looking through the peep hole to see two police officers stood outside her door. She opened the door cautiously.

“Miss Maria Garcia?” one of them asked.

“Yes.”

“Is there a Miss Catalina Ibáñez living here?” the same one asked.

“What is this about?” Maria frowned.

“Is Miss Ibáñez living here?” Maria turned as the bedroom door opened.

“I’m Miss Ibáñez, what’s the problem officers?” Catalina stood in her doorway arms crossed.

“May we come inside, I’m afraid we have some news to deliver.” The second officer explained.

Catalina sat on the sofa as Maria set about making tea. Maria rushed over as Catalina dissolved into tears, the two officers had come to deliver the news that Catalina’s parents had been killed when a drunk driver collided with their vehicle, neither had survived. The two officers left a card where they could be contacted and let themselves out of the apartment. Catalina cried herself into exhaustion wrapped up in Maria’s arms. At some point Maria managed to send a message to Gabriela and she and Luis hurried round to the apartment.

They spent the next two days comforting Catalina and helping her prepare for the funeral, her parents were devout Catholics and getting the arrangements for a catholic funeral was difficult especially in the run up to the new year. The next available date was the second week in January. Maria cornered Catalina one morning when Gabriela and Luis weren’t there to ask if she wanted to inform Bruce. She shook her head and made plans to see her parent’s bodies.

Luis was the one to take her to the police station to identify their bodies. It was the hardest thing she had to do. Briefly she thought about Bruce, how he was only a child when his parents had been murdered in front of him, how he ever dealt with that grief she had no idea.

She thought back to the disagreement she’d had with her parents the last time she saw them. She was eighteen, had been madly in love with Willis and had stupidly given into his advances, she wound up pregnant. They were so disappointed in her. They thought Willis was a waste of space and that she could do so much better than him. But she was young and in love, when Willis announced he wouldn’t marry her well her mother was beside herself, and when it was revealed that Willis had been stealing from them, they couldn’t have him in their house anymore. She was made to choose the father of her unborn child or her parents. She picked Willis, and never spoke to her parents again. Not even after losing the baby, she couldn’t go back to them, this was the life she had made, and she stubbornly believed she could fix it.


	2. Sometimes you have to take two steps backwards before you can move forwards.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Willis Todd comes from an abusive family, he wonders if he'll turn out like his father. His fights with Catalina seem to point out that he will.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter gives a bit of background to Willis Todd and the character I am painting him as.
> 
> A bit of background for Bruce's other children.
> 
> Also included are a few easter eggs - link back to previous characters/comics/universes.

Willis Todd was the youngest of seven. He had brown hair and eyes like his father; Peter Todd, his mother Faye Gunn was blonde haired and blued eyed. A typical Australian.

He’d grown up watching his dad beat his mum for years, often times that anger had turned onto his children too. His mum had come over from Australia when she was able to strike it out on her own, she met Peter Todd and the two fell in love. Well, Franklin had come along nine months later, Petra and Spencer had followed not long after that. Mark and Ray were next before Joe and Willis. Not one of them escaped their father’s drunken rage.

Franklin was the eldest, skinny kid with long brown hair and his mother’s blue eyes. Spencer had inherited their mother’s Australian traits, blonde hair, blue eyes and the easy ability to tan, in whatever sun that Gotham usually had. Petra was the only girl, she was tall with blue eyes and red hair, she was always nice to Willis. Mark was the chubby one, with red hair and brown eyes, next was Ray who like Willis was the only other child to get the same colouring as their dad. Joe was only a bit smaller than Willis even though he was older, he too had red hair and brown eyes.

By the time, Willis was eight he had learned how to take a hit as well as how to throw one, even if Spencer and Petra tried to shield him and Joe from the worst of their father’s temper. By the time, he was twelve Franklin or Frankie as he was often called was in juvie, with Mark and Ray not far behind. Petra being the only daughter in the family helped make sure there was food on the table. By the time he was fifteen his dad had died of a heart attack. Good riddance, he said.

His mum had got a job at a boarding school for boys shortly after the death of their dad. Frankie was doing time in prison, a job gone wrong landing him back inside. Marko was running a chop shop in the East End, he was the only one of the children to inherit their father’s considerable size, he was not one to mess with. Ray was working on the docks; he would take back hand jobs from the criminals trying to smuggle things into the city. The Falcone family paid him well for his services. He was also a heavy drinker.

Spencer and Petra had grown up shielding both Joe and Willis from the worst of their parents’ rage, and it was a surprise when both of them got decent working jobs. Petra started working for the social services helping to give children like themselves homes, and Spencer, well, he went and became a cop, everybody knew the cops in Gotham were crooked and Petra sent a lot of her troubled boys to the school their ma worked at. So, they may have decent jobs, but they were still just as bad as the rest of the family, guess the apple didn’t fall far from the tree.

Joe was the only one to truly escape, Joe had runaway to join the circus, Sloan’s circus, last Willis heard he was doing quite well as an acrobat. Willis of course had inherited their father’s temper; he was full of rage and didn’t see a way out of the hell hole that was his life. Until he met her.

Catalina Elisa Ibáñez. He was dealing drugs outside her school when he spotted her. She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. She had a warm smile that lit up her eyes. He took extra care to woo her, she wasn’t another one of his flings like, Sheila or Sharmin or his usual thing for red heads. This was different, she was different, she was high class, going to Gotham Prep Academy. She was younger than him probably about a year or two. He would have to bring his A game.

It was probably a good thing she had a thing for bad boys, wanted to test the bounds of her parents. It was a whirlwind romance; they were young and in love. She was just about to finish school when she fell pregnant. Willis had hit the bottle pretty heavily that day after she broke the news, he probably shouldn’t have got into the car either, but he did. It was late at night, he stole a car, he was drunk, it was a nice car maybe Marko could use it. He barely remembers the crash; he does remember looking down and seeing the old man under the car. The car’s front end was wrapped around a lamp post. He could hear the sirens. He ran.

It was a good thing Catalina’s folks were decent people. Hugely religious though, Catholic. Taking him in they had hoped he would marry their daughter, but Willis knew he wasn’t the marrying kind. His parents hadn’t been married and look how that had turned out. He got into debt with the wrong people, he needed money and they had things lying around that they would never miss. So, he stole a few pieces here and there. It got the mob off his back and into their favour when he saved Franco Falcone from a job about to go wrong. He suddenly felt like everything was on the way up. He’d be able to work his way up from being a drug runner in no time.

He should have known better. Of course, Catalina’s parents noticed the missing items. Guillermo Ibáñez Morales was not a simple man. He had married Arianna Elisabeth Riveria Azarola de Ibáñez and together they had worked their way up into the middle-class world of Gotham. He had worked hard for this life and the life he provided for Catalina. He had a fiery temper that Willis easily matched. He was confronted about the stolen items, and the argument had happened. He had thrown their hospitality in their faces, he wouldn’t marry their daughter after he had got her pregnant, he was nothing, but a petty thief and Catalina could do so much better than him. He wasn’t welcome there anymore, Catalina had to choose him or them. He put on his best serene smile and held his hand out to her. She picked him and she never spoke to her parents again.

They moved into a small apartment together courtesy of Franco Falcone, who set them up with a nice little nursery for the baby. Then Catalina got sick, it was too soon for the baby to come. He had rushed her to the hospital the moment the blood had appeared.

Their baby didn’t make it, Catalina was barely eighteen years old, he was twenty. They both took it rather hard. He turned to drink, and Catalina wanted to numb the pain. She had lost everything in that moment, she wouldn’t go back to her parents, she was too stubborn for that. But she was in so much pain, he couldn’t stand for her to hurt that way, so he bought her the drugs to help numb her pain. The heroin helped to ease her depression, but she was soon addicted, becoming a shadow of the woman she once was. He took more and more jobs, saving money to feed her habit. They had fights, big ones often about money or the fact that they lost the baby each blaming the other for the miscarriage.

He started seeing other women, even went back to Sheila, while Cat lay listless in the apartment. Her friend Maria came round and seeing the state her friend was in, dragged her away from the toxic environment. He didn’t see Catalina for a long time after Maria took her away, they had been together for years. Three years and they hadn’t been the greatest years, mired by so much tragedy, especially for her. He bought her flowers and tracked her down, he tried to win her back, he did all the right things. She was clean and they thought they’d give it a go again. But then he saw a pretty girl and went after her, she caught him, and he begged her to forgive him and she did every time.

Then she was twenty-one, been clean for almost a year, and got accepted into some nursing program. She had worked a nightshift that day and when she came home the letter was waiting for her on the floor. She ran into the bedroom to find Willis in bed with another woman. She screamed at him while packing a bag, she slammed the door and was gone.

That was three months ago, imagine his surprise when he walked into his local bar to see Catalina sat there. He smiled, he could win her back, he missed her. He sauntered over to the bar and dropped into the seat next to her, he eyed the drink she was nursing, she wasn’t really a drinker, she glanced over and he noticed the tearstains down her cheeks, whatever comment was about to come out of his mouth died. He leant over and brushed his hand against her cheek.

She told him how her parents were killed by a drunk driver, that she’d just had to identify their bodies, she slurred as she spoke, she told him how she had no one left now, with her parents gone it was just her all alone in the world. He downed six beers while she spoke then she mentioned the baby, their baby and he realised that she was having an emotional breakdown. He was not prepared for her to be so vulnerable around him, but he realised that this was the first time that they had really opened up about the death of their child, that neither of them had really shared their grief with the other, and he found himself telling her how he didn’t know what to do after it had happened, he didn’t know what to feel, he was angry, and he was sad, he was watching the girl he loved get further and further away from him, so he threw himself into his work, he did everything he could to try to help her, that’s why he bought her the drugs to help ease her pain.

They ended up kissing and in a moment of passion the two found themselves in bed together. He promised he would do better, that she wouldn’t go through her grief alone, that if she gave him another chance, he wouldn’t make the same mistakes again.

The new year came, he went to Catalina’s parents’ funeral, Maria didn’t like that he was there, she probably didn’t believe that he had changed, that he was trying to do better. He would visit Catalina at work with flowers, and when she was on a late shift, he would be there to walk her back to Maria’s, even if he wanted her to come back to their apartment. He asked her about the apartment, and he was struck stupid when she said it just held so many bad memories for her that she doubted she could ever go back there.

He went and saw Franco Falcone, he explained how he was trying to win back his girl and that the apartment he had set them up with, just reminded her of everything bad that had happened. Franco was understanding and allowed Willis to move out of the apartment with no loss of face, he even gave him a loan to find his own place. He found a decent place not too far from where Gabriela and Luis had moved to, he hoped that would work in his favour. Gabriela didn’t seem to mind him, Luis was wary, probably because he worked in a decent garage business and didn’t want to get mixed up in the bad reputation that Willis had. He could understand the guy was trying to make a decent living for himself and his newly pregnant fiancée. Willis had been in his position so he understood, if it hadn’t been for Franco Falcone, he didn’t know what he would have done.

He told Catherine he had moved, even showed her the new apartment, but she still seemed reluctant to move in. He was walking past the tv place when he saw the main news headline. Billionaire Bruce Wayne was officially pronounced dead. Bruce Wayne hadn’t been seen officially since he left Gotham when he went travelling after he turned eighteen and finished school, besides a brief appearance during the second week of December the man had not been seen. Seemed even billionaire playboys fucked up he snorted.

A few days after he saw that news report, he found Catalina stood outside his doorstep, he blinked, he had been the one to pursue her. He could see the tears threatening to fall from her eyes. He stepped forwards and crouched in front of her. His heart stopped when she announced she was pregnant, he was terrified, again, they couldn’t lose another baby. He brought her inside and they sat down together on the couch. Just sitting in each other’s embrace, this time would be different, he’d do it right this time. She was a good catholic girl, before she met him, he’d make her a good catholic woman this time.

He went out and bought a ring, out of all his siblings the only one he knew was married was Joe, he’d fallen in love with his acrobatic partner Trina, he was pretty sure they had a son, Jaden he thinks, he was called. Maybe he’d need to talk to him, he was the only decent brother he had after all. He contemplated asking her on Valentine’s day but decided that would be too cliché and she would hate it. So he let Valentine’s day pass, getting her a small gift of chocolates and some roses instead and waited a few days.

He booked a table at her favourite little restaurant, he dressed up, combed his hair and bought her flowers. He had to drag her away from planning Gabriela and Luis’ wedding that was in a week. He ended up telling Luis what he planned just so he could get her to come to the restaurant with him. He realised just how beautiful she was, when she turned up in a smart little dress that was a dark blue with an intricate pattern around the edging, her hair which she normally wore down was up in an intricate bun, he gulped and clasped the ring box in his pocket. How he ever managed to land her he had no idea, she was so much better than him, that’s why he was going to do this right.

She was surprised, he knew he’d never done anything like this before. Then when the meal was over he got out of his chair and dropped down to one knee, she had reacted much like he thought she would, tears in her eyes, hormones because of the baby, and her hand over her mouth, he knew she was biting her lip, then there was a shaky nod of her head. He smiled pushing the ring onto her finger, it wasn’t extravagant it was just a small simple ring with her birthstone in, he crushed her into a hug and whispered into her ear that this time he would do it right.

He knew Maria didn’t approve, she was good for Catalina though, her and Gabriela helped to keep her grounded, he didn’t want to upset her, so he made sure she made time for her friends. He even got invited to Gabriela’s wedding. He helped Catalina move into his apartment grateful that it was further away from Maria’s, when he learned that Gabriela was pregnant too he truly felt he had made the right decision moving near them, their children could grow up together that would make Catherine happy.

He was jeered at when he was at work by the other goons, calling him whipped, because he was getting married. They shut up after he broke a few jaws, any other words were stopped when they finally saw Catalina.

He missed the first ultrasound, a mess at work meant he had to work extra that day, luckily Maria was with Catalina. She was making a scrap book for Catalina, to help her get things ready for the baby, she was making one for Gabriela too. But this meant he was able to check about the wedding venue, there was an opening at the end of September. When he got home, she showed him the scan, their baby was tiny. He told her about the wedding date. He also mentioned about her not working or going to her nursing course. They fought, she wasn’t going to give up her nursing course, she’d worked too hard to even contemplate giving it up. They agreed that she would give up working though, one less stress for her. He went out and got drunk that night, his anger at her stubbornness driving him to drink more.

She got a twelve-week scan, because they were concerned after what happened with the last baby. He was glad they did. By April Gabriela was rushed into hospital, she gave birth to a little boy Alejandro, he was born at 26 weeks, four months before his due date. Catalina spent a lot of time helping Luis and Gabriela, he couldn’t be there, it reminded him too much of last time they had a baby. She told him how Alejandro was strong, that he was fighting every day, she confided that it was hard for her, it did bring back memories, but she was training to be a nurse so she needed to do this.

May was another scan the final one they were told, Maria was there again, he was starting to think Catalina didn’t want him at the scans. He visited Alejandro up in the NICU, he was hooked up to so many machines, but he could see the heart beating away on the monitor. He didn’t know why he found himself there, maybe he had to see it, put his fears to rest. They were having a boy, a little boy. He was so excited, but also very scared, he knew deep down that he was just like his father, would he mess up this child like his father had?

They argued over names for weeks, he really liked Peter, but hated Pedro. She hated Peter. He was adamant that his son would have a proper American name, she spent the week at Maria’s. He had insulted her so badly with that announcement. He pleaded with her to come back. He saw the name Jason in a news report in the paper and mentioned it to her, she liked Jasón, there was an accent on the o he could live with that. Jason Peter Todd. He liked that a lot actually. She wanted Tomás as a middle name. Like fuck was he naming his kid Tomas or whatever she had said. Because he wasn’t Spanish like them was his name not good enough. He was angry at her for taking away his right to name his child.

Alejandro had so many operations while they were waiting for Jasón to be born, he was terrified that something was going to happen to him. He still wasn’t happy about the naming situation, Jason Peter Todd just sounded better than Jason Tomas Todd.

He knew his luck would run out, Catalina had luckily been at the hospital when she had gone into labour, she was with Maria and Gabriela when it happened. They were scared, he wasn’t due for another month; hell, he was due late September it was mid-August.

Maria was in the room with Catalina, he couldn’t stomach it he needed something to take his mind off everything, there was a pretty receptionist that caught his eye.

Jasón Tomás Ibáñez was born on sixteenth August he weighed five lbs, he was rushed to the operating theatre, he wasn’t breathing on his own. Maria dealt with the paperwork, he was preoccupied, when he heard the news he rushed back to Catalina’s side. They saved his life that day.

He saw him in the NICU a full set of black hair on his head, made him frown. No one in his family had black hair, Catalina’s family might have done, could be part of the genes, but something nagged at the back of his mind. He pushed the thought aside as he stared at his son, through the window. He was next to Alejandro; he was starting to understand what Luis and Gabriela were going through as he stared through the window at the little boy.

The first time Jason opened his eyes, he saw that they were a dark shade of blue. He wrote to his brother Joe. His son Jaden had red hair and blue eyes, don’t forget mum had blue eyes he wrote. He went to work, he had hospital bills to pay, but that nagging thought didn’t leave him. Jasón looked more like his mum then he did him, probably a good thing really.

They were told that both boys could go home twentieth September as long as everything stayed good. They were getting married on the eighteenth.

It wasn’t exactly the wedding she wanted, they got married at the church where her parents had their funeral, none of his family turned up except Ray who was probably only there for the booze, he did not expect any of his family to turn up if he was being honest, although Joe did write to him. Maria and Gabriela were there as was Luis. His best man was Don, a friend from work, they’d worked together most of their lives it only seemed right he’d be there. They didn’t have a party after, the money that would have been spent on the party went towards Jasón’s medical bills. He couldn’t wait to finally hold his son in his arms.

Two days later, they travelled up with Gabriela and Luis to the hospital, each of them finally relieved that their sons were coming home. They would be a family, all together in their apartment. He had spoken to Andy, a fellow goon, who had had a kid recently, he’d told him not to worry about the colour of his hair, it would all fall out soon anyway, kids with lots of hair always did. His daughter was born with a head of ginger hair, which had fallen out and come back white blonde and all babies were born with blue eyes. He didn’t think anymore about Jason’s looks as he was finally able to bring him home.

Things changed over the years. Catalina was shaken one night after her course, she looked deathly pale and her eyes were wide, he couldn’t do anything to settle her, he suggested she take Jasón to Maria’s and hopefully that would settle her. She nodded and he helped her pack a bag, taking their son with her. His nagging thought was back, Jasón’s full name was Jasón Tomás Ibáñez, she stated it was because they weren’t married at the time. But his parents weren’t married, Willis was a Todd as was Joe, but his other siblings were all Gunn like their mum, he wondered how his dad had convinced his mum to make them Todd’s.

The City was going mad, Bruce Wayne was alive, he was alive and he had a daughter. The billionaire had a secret child with an unknown woman, during his travels around the world. Turned out Bruce Wayne had an older son too, one that lived with his mother and her family, a circus brat. That bastard really got a round. Willis despised the man they always showed a picture of him with his dark blue eyes and chiselled good looks, that man could probably get any woman he wanted. He wondered if he was trying to get as many Wayne heirs as possible, must be hard being the last of your name.

Cat spent about a week with Jasón at Maria’s. She had seemed angry, he hadn’t seen her that fiery in years, he was glad that Maria was dealing with it rather than him. He spent a lot of time drinking and even managed to catch up with his brother Ray. He was a worse drinker than Willis.

Work picked up which meant he was home less often doing more jobs and some petty thieving on the side. Cat went back to her nursing course leaving Jason with either Gabriela or Maria. Maria continued to make the scrap books for the two women, she kept Cat’s probably knew it was a good idea rather than leave it behind. He heard that he had a niece and asked about her, she was platinum blonde, practically white hair and blue eyes. Gabriela had another child, Fernando, everything went right with her pregnancy and he was born on time and healthy. Maria started dating a soldier which meant he saw less of her, which he was grateful for, he really didn’t like her.

The news was still ripping into Bruce Wayne, he had an affair with a married woman. He was a home wrecker, his stocks and shares plummeted. It got worse when it was discovered that Janet Drake was pregnant. Now Bruce had another bastard child on the way. He’d had a massive argument with Cat about Bruce Wayne, he thought he deserved it, if the guy couldn’t keep it in his pants then the world deserved to know that he was a dickhead. She was adamant that it was Janet’s fault, nobody had seen her with her husband when she’d first come to Gotham and started to seduce Bruce, he’d not been with her long when the husband, a Jack Drake, had turned up with his wife in tow at the next high society event. It had been a massive blow out; all the guests were gossiping, and it had made headlines that Jack Drake had punched one Bruce Wayne for having an affair. When Janet had been found to be pregnant, Bruce hadn’t been seen for weeks and everyone thought that Jack had paid Bruce another visit.

Jack Drake’s shares and stock had rocketed after the birth of Timothy Jackson Drake-Wayne. Everybody thought it was an incredible thing to do adopting the child of another man. Willis had spat at that and said he’d never raise another man’s child. Timothy was the spitting imagine of his parents and it was incredibly hard to tell whether he was Jack or Bruce’s son. All the gossip mags were adamant he was Bruce’s.

The news was shocked when Drake Industries proceeded to do a deal with Wayne Enterprises. Drake communication towers where erected all over the city allowing for better mobile reception and as an increase of internet signal. It would appear in all social circles that Jack Drake had no animosity against Bruce Wayne and would let him spend time with Tim. This is what prompted Cat to think that Janet had actually been the one in the wrong. Wayne Industries stocks and shares levelled out, but everyone now believed that Bruce Wayne was an adulterous playboy billionaire.

Cat had just finished her nursing course, when Jasón had turned three. This was also the moment that Willis started to notice some things about his son. Jasón’s hair had fallen out but it had grown back just as black as before the only difference had been the curls, his hair now curled much like his mother’s and his eyes which had started out a dark blue were the perfect mix of blue green eyes, a mix between his mother’s green and the dark blue they had started out. Turquoise. He had freckles across his nose like his mother. He looked so much more like his mother than Willis.

In fact, after his stint in the NICU he had grown to be tall for his age, he was always getting compliments about how handsome he was, yes Catalina was beautiful but there was no way that people would ever have called him handsome. No, Jasón was the product of someone else and Cat. The kid was too smart too, he was miles ahead of Alejandro in development and little Lyra, a girl on the floor above them, was a year older than Jason and development wise he seemed more advanced than her.

No, he had come to the conclusion that Jasón was not his biological son about the same time that the whispers had spread around the neighbourhood. He had always said he would not raise another man’s bastard, that wasn’t the man he was. It didn’t help that the kid spoke in Spanish. Even spoke Spanish to the dog, he hated that thing it followed the kid everywhere why Cat thought the dog was a good idea he didn’t know, it was just another mouth to feed.

He’d been out working hard to bring money into the house, he was slightly drunk annoyed that his wife, oh what a mistake that was, had a bastard son, he came home wrecked and saw Jason with his not brown hair and not brown eyes and he had lashed out. The hit had knocked the boy to the floor, and he found himself laying into the boy, he stopped when Sparky had launched himself at Willis biting down on his arm and stopping him from punching the boy. He staggered away from the boy and only then did the dog let go of his arm standing guard over the boy. He cussed at the dog and staggered into the bathroom bandaging his arm and stumbling out of the house. He’d need a rabies shot. Cat wasn’t there she’d taken a late shift at the hospital. He left the boy there on the floor his mother could sort out the mess.

Cat had handed her notice in at the hospital the next day. She’d got a job as a waitress with hours that worked round Jasón. She had not forgiven him for hurting her son. He knew she was catholic and that she would never divorce him, so he was stuck with her bastard in his house. But he wanted a child of his own. He told her it had been a drunken mistake, he told her it would never happen again. She forgave him and they made passionate love that night. He was over joined when they found out she was expecting. Maria and Gabriela were expecting too it turned out.

She had another miscarriage, Gabriela and Maria stayed away knowing that their joy would only bring her more hurt. She cradled Jasón close to her reading books with him, when he was asleep, she was in tears in the bathroom, she couldn’t stand to look at Willis some nights. So, he did what he did last time, he got her something to numb the pain.

There was a knock at his door one night, he stormed to the door, how dare whoever was there disturb his evening. He yanked the door open to see Sheila Haywood, and his breath caught in his throat. He blinked at her, his eyes travelling to the child stood behind her. He let the two into the apartment, Cat was feeding Jasón at the table in one of her more lucid moments, both of them stared at the two newcomers.

She explained that the child was Daniel ‘Danny’ Haywood Todd and that he had been conceived when they had their affair a few years ago. Her eyes travelled to Cat as she spoke. He’d been running back to Sheila whenever anything happened with Cat, so he knew that this was probably accurate. He looked at the kid, he had Willis’ brown hair and Sheila’s blue eyes. He looked more like Willis than Jasón did. He looked between the two boys besides Jasón’s colouring they could actually be confused for brothers. He dropped into his chair as he was presented with a child he didn’t know he had.

He watched as Cat got up and grabbed another plate splitting all their meals to make enough for his son. His son, he had a biological son. Sheila pushed the boy towards Catherine as she held out her hand to him, he hesitantly took it and was sat at the table with his plate of food. It was that moment he remembered how much he loved Cat, she saw this child that wasn’t hers and still took him in. He looked at her eyes and saw the hurt there, he made the connection with Danny’s age and date of birth. He was conceived in that dark time after they had lost their first child.

Sheila was in trouble and she couldn’t take him with her. She wanted them to take him in. She had finished her doctorate but an operation had gone wrong leaving the patient dead. She needed to leave the city. Daniel wasn’t going with her. Either he stayed with them or he went into the system. He turned and looked at Cat with the two boys sat at the table, a family made up of bastards, one each, maybe they could make it work. He wanted a child of his own, Cat already had a bastard why couldn’t he do the same. They shared a look, he could see Cat would not let this child leave, she was a far better person than he was. He agreed to take the kid in, Sheila turned holding up some papers that she left on the side and left without a backwards glance.

Cat was a wonder the next day, she took both boys to get things sorted. Another mouth to feed meant that he had to get more money, he took more jobs and tried to spend time with Danny whenever he could. Danny seemed to adore his little brother, and spent time following Cat around like a little lost puppy. It made him angry. He was his son. While Cat had taken to Danny well, the hurt had resurfaced, after the loss of another child and the arrival of his son. He could understand the pain she was in, he did but they had a child each now. He felt his anger rising, now Cat would know what it felt like to raise a bastard too.

He took to drinking most nights and she would spend her nights getting high. He found out that Maria had a little boy with her soldier, and Gabriela had a little girl. He started to lash out at Cat, blaming her for it happening again. Never mind that she had carried Jasón nearly to full term. Whenever he saw the boy, he called him bastard, he knew that would piss off Cat, especially as she was helping to raise his own bastard.

Danny was small for his age and a little under weight, he was quiet, and learned quickly that his father had a temper and his mother was often away in a drug fuelled haze. Both boys learned quickly, both learned to be quiet, Danny would walk with a soft footstep, while Jasón could walk around without making a sound, creeped him the fuck out that did. Both hated loud noise and arguing, the bastard would hide under the table hugging the stupid dog, while Danny would glare at him while standing guard over the two of them while he and Cat fought. He was a loud crier, messy too while the bastard cried quietly, which he’d found out after shouting and screaming at both of them. He’d turned into his father.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I mentioned I spent a lot of time researching for this story.  
> Willis' family is a mix of all his history in Batman, currently he is the son of Ma Gunn. Ray is from the titans universe - Jason comments that he was raised by his drunk uncle Ray. I had planned the story and characters before finally discovering that Willis' father is actually called Jason, which is why that tib-bit has changed. He's Peter in this world.
> 
> Joe is Jason's dad in pre-crisis comics and I thought it would be a nice little easter egg really to include him in the family. Trina was Jason's mother and Jaden is their version of Jason.  
> Franco Falcone is a combination of Francesco Falcone from earth 2 and Frank Falcone from new earth.
> 
> Another easter egg here, Shelia Haywood was Jason's mother in the post crisis universe before they reset it all, Catherine was his step mother in that world.  
> Danny Todd is a character from the DCAU. He was a late addition to this story but has helped me set up my plot more since his inclusion. Haywood is his middle name not his surname.
> 
> Thank you for reading.  
> Until next time.


	3. A fun day out can turn into a nightmare.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jason gets to spend quality time with his mama, with a few appearances by the bat family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A few little easter eggs - link back to previous characters/comics/universes.

**Chapter 3. A fun day out can turn into a nightmare.**

Jasón was five, and he knew his mamá was not well, but that she was trying. He knew she had lost a baby, while Gabriela and Maria had not. He knew she was in pain, and that Willis had got her the medication to help her. But it wasn’t helping her, she was getting sicker. Then Danny had came he was older and Willis’ son, he had brown hair like Willis but blue eyes -green shaded blue if he was honest. He was nicer than Willis, together they had learned how to help out around the house. Danny was two years older than him and easily a head taller which meant he could reach more things. Jasón had a habit of waking up when the sun rose, he’d take Sparky for a walk then, come in and help Danny make porridge oats, together they’d lift the chair up and move it over to the stove. Even though Danny was taller he still couldn’t reach the stove, also if the two of them lifted it they wouldn’t make too much noise, meaning Willis wouldn’t wake up and yell at them. They would leave the pot on the stove for mamá and Willis could eat too.

He didn’t like Willis, everyone said he was his dad, but dads didn’t hit their children or their wives. He stunk of booze and Maria didn’t have a kind word to say about him. He was the reason mamá was sick. Jason had learned how to behave around Willis, he wasn’t supposed to speak Spanish in front of him, that always angered him. He wasn’t to read in front of him, for some reason Willis hated that Jasón was smart, he was getting good grades in school and everybody said he was advanced for his age. Danny’s grades weren’t as good and he often got into fights, he was angry that his mum had left him, that mamá was sick and that he was doing everything for Jasón. That’s why Jasón walked the dog, he was already awake then and it meant his brother got more sleep. Willis didn’t like that Jasón was better than Danny, he taken a beating when it had first happened, but his mamá had been so proud. He was not to fight back when Willis hit him, it only made him angrier and the bruises harder to hide, he had already learned how to lie and hide them when an adult asked.

Mamá had been getting better lately she was becoming more aware of her surroundings; she’d even stopped taking the medicine that Willis had been giving her. He knew Danny had helped looking after her when she was lying on the bathroom floor, he might have shouted at her that it wasn’t fair that they had to look after her, that he was hurting too, but he couldn’t hide away like she did. It was soon after that, that she started to get better. She had introduced Danny to Maria and Gabriela, who had been surprised that she had taken him in. Jason liked having a big brother, someone else he could speak Spanish to when Willis wasn’t around. And he wasn’t around often, gone more days than not and when he was here he either sent the time catching up with Danny or he was drunk.

Mamá had started to teach Danny Spanish too, and she would tell them both how proud she was of them and that school was important. She would sing with them and let them help with the cooking. He loved spending time with them together. He loved school as well, his best friend was Alejandro, Danny and he would meet up with his family on the corner and they’d walk to school together, Gabriela always asks after mamá and she would get sad when they told her that she was sick.

By Alejandro’s birthday mamá was able to walk them to school, this made everyone happy, except Willis but he doesn’t care what Willis thinks. He got to spend more time with Maria and Diego, his papá was deployed so it was often just the two of them. Danny and him like Diego, they spend a lot of time with him, while mamá catches up with Maria. Whenever they visit Maria’s mamá always gets letters that make her smile, not the fake smile she uses for Willis, but her secret smile that she used just for him.

Maria has a scrap book where the letters are stored, they’ve shown him the book before it’s all about him; there are pictures of him growing up his first words, his first steps everything is noted down. He feels like they are keeping it for someone, maybe for his papá, he overhears them talking about him sometimes in Spanish. He’s handsome that’s where he gets his looks from, and he makes mamá happy, they only ever talk about him when the letters come. Mamá writes letters back and Maria must deliver them for her. She tells him they started writing letters before he was born. He is glad they make her happy, the more she is happy the more present she becomes.

By July mamá was almost back to her old self, she has got another job as a waitress. He is happy and surprised to see her waiting for him at the school gates, he blushed at hearing the passing comments, everyone thinks mamá is beautiful and that they are lucky to have her as their mamá. Everybody is jealous of their mamá. Sometimes they get to spend the day together just the two of them. While Danny gets to spend time with his dad. Today is one of those days. Both boys smile and run into her arms. She hugs them both tight, “Willis is home he wants to take you to a game,” she explains to Danny. He bites his lip a trait he had picked up from them. “Are you sure that’s okay?” he asks.

“It’s fine, go bond with your father Danny, Maria has given me tickets to use anyway. We’ll be there when you get back.” She smiles at him.

“I’ll tell you all about it when we come back.” He smiles and runs over to Alejandro who waves as she takes Jasón’s hand. He waves back as they walk in the opposite direction.

“I have a surprise for you my little blue jay.” She tells him fondly.

He tilts his head at her as she pulls two tickets to the circus out of her bag. Haly’s circus he reads and the biggest grin spreads across his face. He’d never been to the circus before he wonders what it will be like. He knew it was new in town he’d overheard some of the older kids talking about it at school, some of them were going to see the show too. He wondered how his mamá had managed to buy tickets, they were expensive he was sure, but she was happy so he didn’t put too much thought into it.

Haly’s circus was huge, there were food stalls all over the place there were even some arcade games, he watched as a man and his daughter approached the one with the stuffed toys. She was small and dark haired and looked to be the same age as him. Her dad was big, broad across the shoulders with dark hair to match hers and they both had blue eyes. He watched as the dad helped her to throw a ring around the bottles, he tilted his head watching the father and daughter as she laughed in glee when she won a stuffed toy, she pointed at the bat toy that was hanging upside down from the roof of the stall.

He looked up at his mamá when she took his hand back after they had handed over the tickets to gain entry to the area. He glanced up at the toys where the dad and daughter had been there was a blue jay nestled amongst the rafters. He stopped and pointed up at the bird, seeing his mamá smile softly before handing over some money to the stall keeper. They were handed three rings each, he watched as a man tried to get the rings over the bottle and missed, but the girl he was with didn’t, he watched the way she threw her rings as she got all three of her rings around different bottles. He looked back at his mamá as she concentrated, her tongue poking out the side of her mouth as she tested her throw before releasing the rings. The first ring bounced off the side of the bottle and the second ring fell in-between a set of bottles, she paused seeing Jasón watching her.

“Did you want some help baby?” she smiled at him.

He shook his head and stuck his tongue out to concentrate and released the first ring. It landed perfectly around a bottle, he picked out the next bottle and tossed the ring towards it waiting as that one too settled around the bottle. He smiled up at her, turning back and throwing his final ring out onto a third bottle, he heard his mamá laugh as she handed him her final ring. He turned and let this one sail over and land on a fourth bottle.

“How’d you do that baby?” she laughed.

He shrugged and smiled at her, he pointed up to the blue jay, which the stall owner got down for him. “Nice arm kid,” he ruffled Jasón’s hair as he handed the toy over “You get two,” he pointed up to the other toys. He looked at toys spotting a wolf that he thought Danny might like. He pointed at the wolf which was handed to him. He smiled and thanked him taking his mamá’s hand as they left the stand.

They wandered past a few more stands making their way towards the big top, when he stopped and stooped down picking up the bat toy that the little girl had won earlier, he tugged on his mamá’s hand to get her attention. “She lost it,” he felt sad suddenly. He glanced around trying to find the girl. He spotted her father through the crowd he was a big guy and kinda hard to miss. He pulled his mamá through the crowd trying to get closer to the man, he felt her stiffen and jolted to a stop when she refused to move any closer. He glanced up at her, her eyes had widened suddenly and she was biting her lip.

He tugged her hand. “Mamá I need to give this back to the girl,” he held the bat out.

“You be polite Jasón, and you come straight back here okay?” he nodded “Sí mamá.”

He weaved his way through the small amount of people, he could see the man was kneeling now trying to console his daughter, she was wiping tears from her eyes and trying to stop crying.

“Excusa. I think you dropped this,” he held out the bat toy, “I saw you win it at the game over there,” he explained as the girl blinked through her tears at him. She stared at him for a while. They had similar eyes, they reminded him of Danny’s eyes in colour, “I’d be sad to if I lost my toy too,” he held up the blue jay and smiled lopsidedly at her, she reached out and took the toy gently from him.

“That was very nice of you,” He looked up to see her dad watching them a curious twinkle in his eye. “What did you call your friend there?” he asked.

“Mi arrendajo Azul? I haven’t thought of a name yet,” he shrugged, “Maybe Azula,”

“A great name, what about the other one?” he smirked.

“This one,” he held up the wolf, “is for mi hermano,” he smiled. “He’s with his dad at a game.” He shrugged.

“I see,” he frowned glancing round the crowd, “You should say thank you Cassandra.” He waited as his daughter raised her hand up to her chin touching her fingertips to her chin before forcing them away from her and towards the ground. Jasón’s eyes widen, that was sign language, Alejandro used that sometimes. He smiled and quickly signed my name is J-a-s-o-n. What yours?

Both of them blinked at him before Cassandra started signing at him, he smiled as she spoke animatedly at him.

“You know ASL?” her dad asked.

“Sí, un poco, my friend uses it sometimes. It was nice to meet you Cassandra, I should get back to mi mamá, I hope you enjoy the circus.” He smiled between them both waving softly as he stepped back into the crowd.

He found his mamá waiting where he’d left her, she was biting her lip still but her eyes lit up when they spotted him as he made his way back over to her.

“Were you polite? What did he say?" She’d switched to Spanish.

"Yes, he said it was nice, he asked me what my toy was called, he made his daughter thank me, I started signing and they were surprised that I could sign." He tilted his head, she seemed worried, she hadn’t even realised that she had switched languages.

He pulled her away through the crowd, with the unsettling feeling that they were being watched. He tightened the hold on his mamá’s hand. They made their way through the crowd, an enticing smell coming from one of the vendors had him entranced, when a poster caught his eye. He stopped staring up at the poster, feeling his arm pulling as his mamá carried on walking. He bit his lip as he looked up at the poster. The Flying Graysons. They were the headline act of the circus, he felt his mamá return to his side, she was watching him as he bit his lip.

“Did you want to buy a poster?” she enquired.

He nodded and smiled brightly up at her. He waited patiently while she bought the poster for him and it was rolled up and stored in a long cardboard tube. Which was placed into a bag big enough for him to put the two toys into. She handed it to him, he smiled up at her but noticed a frown marring her face, she was biting her lip, like he did when he was scared of doing something wrong. He looked to where she was looking. A small family, a mum, dad and son had stopped and were chatting with the Flying Graysons. He knew they were the headline act because they were all wearing the same green outfit with a golden G across their chests.

It looked like they had asked if they could have a picture. There were seven Graysons. Four adults and three children all boys. One of the children offered to hold the other families’ child on his knee. Actually, it was quite odd how similar the children all looked to one another. They looked like a nice family and it was probably going to be a good picture of the two families, until the mum of the small family sneered. The child took the camera and with help from his father took a picture of the seven flying Graysons.

He felt is mamá tug him away as one of the female Graysons turned towards them. She was dragging him towards the big tent when that enticing smell came back. “Can’t we have some of that nice smelling food?” he asked. She stopped and blinked down at him, kneeling in front of him, “Sure baby, what did you want?” he tugged her over to the stall with the nice smell, a gentle smile crossed her face. She held up two fingers to the vendor.

Jasón bit his lip, he knew this was a treat and he was happy that she was getting him what he asked for, but he wondered if they could afford this. He was startled from his thoughts as his mamá took his hand again and led him into the big tent, they found a seat near the back. She handed him the item of food.

“What’s on your mind my little bluejay?” she asked him in Spanish.

“Is it really okay for me to have all this? Isn’t something like this expensive?” she smiled and held out the food to him.

He placed the bag with the poster tube between his legs as he reached out for the food.

“Eat the chilidog.” She waited as he slowly took a bite, “I was gifted the tickets, from an old friend.” She smiled that smile she got whenever she got one of those letters when they visited Maria.

“From the person who writes you those letters?” he asked after his mouthful.

Her eyes glowed warm as she nodded her head. The lights went down and the ring master entered the ring, he savoured the flavour of the chilidog as the show started.

He was gripping onto his poster tube and bag as the Flying Graysons where announced. But it was the fabulous boy wonder the dauntless Dick Grayson performing his solo act, that mesmerised him. It was like the boy was flying, the way he moved through the air was so graceful the entire tent was in awe of him, he finished by performing a quadruple somersault and it was perfect.

The announcer declared that it was the final act of the show, and because Dick had just performed a solo, he would not be taking part in the Flying Graysons signature move, however his younger brother Mitch would now be taking part in the main event. They had performed this move several times now with Mitch and it was time to show off his hard work and dedication.

Then the net was gone, and the audience was once again entranced, Mitch was performing beautifully just like the rest of the family, Jasón could just spy Dick sat at the top watching his family perform a huge smile across his face. Jasón’s eyes flicked back to the performing Flying Graysons. And then he saw the rope of the trapeze snap.

His mamá moved to protect him as a scream rang out across the tent. But he was still small and he could see through a gap in her elbow. The Flying Graysons were not in the air anymore, their bodies lay on the floor. His eyes shot up to the boy staring down at his family. The crowd surged in an uproar, he tightened his grip on his bag as his mamá gripped him tightly, swinging him up into her arms.

There was a moment where all the crowds were surging towards the exit, when the world went slow, he glanced up at his mamá, tears glistening in her heartbroken eyes as she looked down through the crowd. He saw the small family, the father holding the son close to him like mamá was doing to him. His eyes found the man and his daughter, she had tucked her head into his neck as he stood and for a moment he turned around and he was sure he was staring back at mamá with the same heartbroken look in his eyes as she was.

Then the world started to move again and they were rushing down the seats. He looked over her shoulder to see Dick running out to the floor and the man and daughter running to meet him, they swept him up into his embrace and then the curtain obstructed his view.

He found himself outside his door, his mamá wiping away his tears, whispering in his ear trying to get him to stop crying.

“Willis is home, hide your things okay?” she wiped his face one more time before turning to open the door.

The stench of alcohol hit him as the door opened, he stayed behind his mamá as they entered the apartment. It was dark as they crept in.

“Where the hell have you been?” Willis was stood on the other side of the sofa.

His mamá stepped forward to pull his gaze away from him. He slipped out from behind her and snuck into the bedroom, making sure he was quiet. He pulled the floorboard under his bed up and quickly stuffed his poster and Azula there. He pressed the floorboard, his door pushed open and he froze, he let out a breath when Sparky ambled over. He stuck his snout into his hand and settled on the floor on top of his secret stash. He looked up as Danny slipped into the room. He held out the wolf he had won for him, Danny smiled and took the wolf. “He wouldn’t let me get anything for you. We ate popcorn and chilidogs.”

“We had chilidogs too.” Jason smiled, then his smile dropped. “Something bad happened at the circus, the Flying Graysons, I think they died,” he bit his lip nervously.

The shouting got louder, and then there was a thud as someone hit the ground. Both boys snapped their heads to look at the door. Since mamá had got better the fighting had gotten worse.

“Stay here Sparky,” Jasón whispered.

“Good dog,” Danny placed his wolf in front of Sparky.

They ran to the door wrenching it open, mamá was lying on the floor Willis was towering over her with a half empty whisky bottle clenched in his hand. Jasón moved as he saw the bottle swinging down to hit his mother.

He was knocked to the ground, dazed and with a searing pain across his face, his arm had come up to protect his eyes. The smell of whisky was strong, with a hint of iron mixed in. He could feel liquid dripping down his face. His ears were ringing but he could hear his mamá screaming at Willis. He tried to push himself up from the floor, turning his head to find his mamá stood above him. Willis was stood the other side of him the broken bottle still in his hand, a few droplets lingered in the bottle before making their way into the floor.

Then Danny came barrelling into Willis knocking the bottle from his hand, it shattered against the wall next to his door. Willis punched Danny three times before his eyes seemed to clear, he threw Danny down onto the floor beside Jasón. Willis sneered and staggered back to their room. He felt arms wrap around him and felt his eyes closing.

He was floating he was sure of it he could just make out soft murmuring and the sudden bright lights. He was in a white room; the lights were bright and a woman in a white coat could just be seen swimming into view. He was placed gently on something soft, he tried to turn his head listening for mamá’s voice or Danny’s. He turned his head back as he felt hands on either side of his face. A lady swam into view, along with a white coat. As his vision settled, he could see Danny and mamá just behind the doctor.

“Hey sweetheart,” she soothed. “I need you to be a big brave boy for me.” A pair of tweezers moved closer to his face and pulled back with a small shard of glass. He felt himself wince and a small cry slipped from his lips. His eyes followed the lady as she dropped the glass shard into a small bowl sat in his lap. “You’re very lucky,” she spoke as she moved back to pull another piece of glass out. “All the damage was done to your cheek; you’ll have a scar there. I need to look at your arm too.” She smiled at him.

He felt warm liquid flow across his cheek. Followed by a cold liquid, his arm was pulled forwards and she used the tweezers to start pulling out more shards of glass that were embedded in there. The cold liquid was poured over his arm. He watched as she got out a gel. “What’s that?” he asked.

“This is numbing gel. I’ve pulled all the glass shards out that I can see, and the saline liquid should have washed any out that I couldn’t get.” She held up a tube, “This gel will make it so that you can’t feel the stitches.” She explained rubbing in the gel tenderly on his cheek. “These are called sutures,” she showed him the sutures and needle. “I do need you to be very still for me, do you think you can do that for me. You might feel a pinch.” She smiled gently at him.

His mamá moved to hold his hand and Danny rested a hand on his leg. The doctor picked up the needle and sutures and he watched her out of the corner of his eye. It did sting a bit but he was going to be big and brave for his mamá, he could feel her squeezing his hand while her other hand ran calmly through his hair. The doctor pulled away to fix a bandage over his cheek. It was stinging slightly. She pulled his arm back up and began to check it over there was a big cut on the top of his arm that would require stitches. He watched as she got more sutures and another bandage and applied numbing gel around the area. She held out an icepack to him. “You might want to hold that gently to your cheek to stop the swelling.”

Then she picked up the needle and sutures and he was watching her weaving in and out of his arm, pulling the cut closed and tying it off with a knot. It was a very neat row of stitches. He looked back up at his mamá, “Now mamá?” he asked, looking to see the black eye appearing on her face.

“I’m okay baby. It’s you I’m worried about, and Danny.” She smiled. “Why would you do that?”

“I didn’t want him to hurt you.” He turned looking at her and burying his face in her throat.

The doctor turned to Danny, who she sat on the bed beside him. “This will hurt quite a bit.” The doctor stated as she brought her hands up to Danny’s nose. There was a crunching noise as she reset his nose. He was brave like Jasón and only let out a small whimper.

“I have to report any domestic abuse, and child abuse.” The doctor stated.

“He was just drunk, it won’t happen again. He’ll never hurt them again.”

The doctor sighed. “He was incredibly lucky if he hadn’t of put his arm up he could have lost an eye.” She pinched the bridge of her nose. “I can’t force you to tell me what happened. Do you need a place to stay for the night?” he felt his mamá shake her head. “Keep him awake for an hour, I’ll be back to check up on you then.” She stood taking the bowl with her.

They didn’t stay. Instead they spent a week with Maria, her husband petty officer Alex Gomez, back on shore leave and their son Diego.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I spent a lot of time researching lots of different things for this story.  
> In the comics Willis took Jason to Haly's circus. It's a flash back from the Red Hood comics.  
> Mitch is actually from the burtonverse he was Dick's older brother in that movie and played by Chris O'Donnell's stuntman.  
> The Flying Graysons include the brother of John Grayson, Rick, his wife Karla and their son, John II, who are from the earth-16 universe/young justice.
> 
> Thank you for reading,  
> Until next time.

**Author's Note:**

> Sometimes I get an idea stuck in my head and I need to write it down. This is the second of one of those ideas.
> 
> I spent a lot of time researching lots of different things for this story.  
> Jason Todd has three women listed as his mother depending on the universe.   
> His earth 1 version was the son of circus performers Joe and Triana Todd and they made up the flying Todd's. This version of Jason was basically a carbon copy of Dick Grayson.  
> Pre crisis I think it is, is where Jason's origin was changed. In this universe he was the son of Willis Todd and raised by Catherine Todd, he was stealing the wheels of the bat mobile when Bruce first met him. He did not know that his real mother was a woman called Sheila Haywood.   
> In the current universe Catherine Todd is returned to his biological mother, and there is no mention of Sheila Haywood. 
> 
> I used behind the name and its sister site behind the surname to research my names.   
> Catalina Elisa Ibanez is the Spanish equivalent of Catherine Elizabeth Johnson, I changed Elizabeth to Elisa as it reminded me of Eliza from my fair lady, which I felt would resonate with this version of Jason. 
> 
> I spent a lot of time in the DCwiki looking things up and finding characters I could use in my universe and fleshing out this idea.  
> I found out about Cousin Jane from the story Red blood, blue blood and then did my research on her through the wiki, which helped me to flesh out Bruce's family tree really.  
> Thank you for reading,  
> Until next time.


End file.
